Defensive democracy is a term referring to the collection of laws, delegated legislation, and court rulings which limit certain rights and freedoms in a democratic society in order to protect the existence of the state, its democratic character and institutions, minority rights, et cetera. The term describes a major conflict that may emerge in a democratic country between compliance with democratic values, particularly freedom of association and the right to be elected, and between preventing anti-democratic groups and persons from abusing these principles. In certain democratic states there are additional special distinctions, supported by a notable section of the population, which justify the use of defensive democracy. However, the question of in what situations the use of defensive democracy is justified without this being considered excessive repression of civil rights is disputed. History The raison d'être for defensive democracy arose due to anti-democratic groups and persons which abused democratic principles and norms. The clearest example of such an abuse is the Nazi Party's takeover by democratic means of the Weimar Republic in 1933, which caused the complete destruction of German democracy, as exemplified by one of Josef Goebbels's infamous addresses: A prior example was the National Fascist Party's takeover of the Kingdom of Italy in the 1920s, which resulted in an imposition of a dictatorship over Italy. Methods The use of defensive democracy can be expressed via several actions applied to a person or group, such as: Surveillance by the security corps (especially military and police intelligence) of activists who are considered dangerous, or after entire associations outright; Restrictions on the freedom of movement or action over bodies suspected of endangering democracy; Deprival of the rights of individuals and parties from running for election (such as Meir Kahane, and subsequently the Kach party which he led, in Israel); Outlawing of organizations considered a danger to democracy (such as the Communist Party in West Germany) As a rule, democratic countries try to not use the methods of defensive democracy too hastily or too severely, and seek alternative courses of action as much as possible, such as public information campaigns and condemnation of anti-democratic activates by respected public figures. However, there are situations where a state might recourse to defensive democratic methods (usually carried out by the court system or other state authorities). The frequency and extent of use of defensive democratic methods varies from country to country. The United States, for